SUSPENDED Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo has been ordered dismissed by the Office of the Ombudsman following her alleged involvement with an illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub.
In a 25-page order released on Tuesday, Guo was found guilty of grave misconduct, which merited “dismissal from service with forfeiture of all her retirement benefits and perpetual disqualification to re-enter government service.”
On the other hand, Municipal Business Permits and Licensing Office officer Edwin Campo and Municipal Legal Officer Adenn Sigua, along with 10 others, were found guilty of conduct prejudicial to the best interest of service, resulting in a suspension of three months.
Below are the names of 10 others who were ordered suspended:
Leonardo Anunciacion
Johny Sales
Jayson Galang
Nikko Balilo
Ernesto Salting
Jose Salting Jr.
Robin Mangiliman
Jose Casmo Aguilar
Mary Andrei Lacsamana
Ranier Rivera
Meanwhile, the Ombudsman dismissed the complaint against Erano Timbang (for lack of merit); William Cura, Alvin Dale Sibal, Fortunato Mejia, Ariel Alimurong, and Eduardo Gutierrez (for lack of jurisdiction); Nestor Peña (deceased); as well as other charges against the respondents.
Last June, the Ombudsman ordered the suspension of Guo following complaints filed by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
In an order dated May 31, Ombudsman Samuel Martires said there are “sufficient grounds to preventively suspend” Guo and two other town officials “considering that there is strong evidence showing their guilt.”
Guo, Ocampo, and Sigua were placed under preventive suspension without pay pending the resolution of an investigation against them. But their suspension must not exceed six months, according to the Ombudsman.
This comes after DILG’s seven-man task force reported “troubling findings of serious illegal acts which may have severe legal implications,” related to Guo and her alleged connection to illegal Podo activities in Bamban, as reported by the Inquirer.net
Aside from this, the Philippine National Police – Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission also filed a qualified human trafficking case against Guo for her alleged connection to the labor trafficking of around 500 foreign Pogo workers.
